UCF never got a chance to play for a national championship after the College Football Playoff Committee passed them, but the Knights showed that they were playoff worthy as the No. 12 UCF took down No. 7 Auburn, 34-27, Monday afternoon at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

UCF QB McKenzie Milton threw two touchdown passes and ran for a career-high 116 yards and also rushed for a score on the ground to lead the Knights to victory to cap off the perfect season.

After going down 13-6 at the half, Auburn answered with two touchdowns in the third quarter as running back Kerryon Johnson scored on a 4-yard run followed by a 26-yard touchdown pass from QB Jarrett Stidham to Will Hastings.

But the Knights came right back as Milton threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Otis Anderson to tie the game at 20.

Then early in the fourth quarter, Milton threrw a strike to Dredrick Snelson for an 8-yard score to take a 27-20 lead.

A couple minutes later, UCF’s Chequan Burkett’s picked off Stidham and returned the interception 45-yards for the pick-6 to push the lead to 34-20.

Auburn had one last chance to tie the game with under a minute remaining, however, Antwan Collier intercepted Stidham’s pass in the end zone to end the game.

UCF (13-0) won in its final game with head coach Scott Frost who stayed with the team through the bowl game after accepting an offer to become Nebraska’s new football coach after the Cornhuskers fired Mike Riley.

Many believed the Knights deserved a higher ranking and even a playoff spot after winning the American Athletic Conference on top of leading the nation in scoring. UCF certainly made a strong statement in its win over Auburn, which beat Georgia and Alabama who are both in the College Football Playoff.